Jon Wilkin
Ex-St Helens captain on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

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One of the interesting things about today is how the players will have prepped for today.

There's no excuse to be physically out of shape, but it's the movement patterns that get challenged and especially the contact in defence.

The teams that manage that contact area well will come out of this lockdown period well.

Catalans make a real surge down the left edge, with Julian Bousquet in particular leaving dents in the Saints defensive line.

Jimmy Maloney hit a crash ball at pace on the last but was held up short of the line and play hands over.

The pace has been relentless so far.

Unsurprisingly, the first set from Catalans was 100 mph.

That's going to be a tone-setter I think!

It's riproaring from lads who have been twiddling their thumbs for the past four and a bit months.

It's like we never went away.

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Players from both sides have taken the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter campaign.

Here we go then. Champions St Helens against Catalans Dragons.

Super League is back.

Let's go.

We've had a minute's silence and are not far away now.

Pitch looks fantastic.

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There are plenty of interesting match-ups here.

Saints big boppers James Graham and Alex Walmsley will have a proper ding-dong battle with Remi Casty and Julian Bousquet - not to mention Sam Kasiano off the bench.

Both sides have exciting three-quarter lines. Can't wait to see this one go off.

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

Dave Woods will be delivering all the action from Headingley - including full commentary of both games on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.

You can find the link to Sports Extra and BBC local radio commentary in the carousel above.

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One coach who can see the benefit of the 'six again' law change for certain players is St Helens boss Kristian Woolf.

The Tonga coach believes the extra fatigue placed on defences, the reluctance to slow down rucks and the space which can appear when 'six again' is awarded will really open the game up for those pivot position players.

"If you play in key positions, I think the rule really suits," Woolf said.

"I think your nine [hooker], six, seven [halves] and one [full-back], in general, are going to enjoy the fact they'll get a little bit more freedom around the ruck and speed of the play-the-ball and a bit more fatigue in defence.

"In the NRL it's certainly brought those players into the game and they're the ones standing out at the moment."

You might hear a lot about 'six again' over the coming weeks, and for good reason.

It's a law change which has been brought in to stop those delaying tactics teams use to slow down play, hoping to give away penalties in order to give defence time to scramble or end the momentum of an attack.

Now, rather than a penalty, the refs can reset the tackle count - hence the cry 'six again' - which will mean teams can really punish those infringements by rolling down field on the back of back-to-back sets.

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It's a sight some Saints fans might have never thought they'd see again, their fearless leader James Graham once again donning the Red Vee. He's starting at prop this afternoon.

Graham bowed out of Super League to test himself in the NRL when he joined Canterbury Bulldogs in the aftermath of Saints' 2011 Grand Final defeat by Leeds.

He enjoyed a sterling career in Australia, playing in two NRL Grand Finals and winning Dally M prop of the year against some heavyweight competition.

The 34-year-old admitted the buzz of once again representing his old club was something he just could not turn down.

"The opportunity to come home is something I'm really excited about, I'd been on the phone to a couple of the lads and genuinely excited to get involved," Graham said on his return to England.

"It's a bit of fortune with the opportunity coming as it has but I'm delighted to get the chance to force myself into the team and to play for Saints again."

The all-important team news is in and there are some big stories to tell.

James Graham is in the Saints squad after his move from St George Illawarra and will make his first appearance in the Red Vee for almost nine years, while Mark Percival is back after shoulder trouble. No Dom Peyroux in the back row, with James Bentley stepping in.

Tom Davies makes his Catalans debut out on the wing, following his off-season move from Saints' big rivals Wigan. Israel Folau continues at centre, while the destructive front-row power of Sam Kasiano will be seen from the bench at some stage.

St Helens: Coote; Makinson, Naiqama, Percival, Grace; Lomax, Fages; Walmsley, Roby, Graham, Bentley, Taia, Knowles.

Interchanges: Batchelor, Smith, Amor, McCarthy-Scarsbrook.

Catalans: Mourgue; Davies, Langi, Folau, Yaha; Maloney, Drinkwater; Casty, McIlorum, Bousquet, Whitley, J Tomkins, Garcia.

Interchanges: Moa, Da Costa, Baitieri, Kasiano.

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And following on from that...

How fitting on the day after Yorkshire Day that Leeds - the most successful summer-era club from east of the Pennines - takes on Huddersfield - the birthplace of the sport.

Richard Agar's Rhinos were among the real pacesetters before lockdown with a flowing brand of exciting football, as were a resurgent Giants, finally showing some classy promise under Simon Woolford.

With two of the most creative and dynamic halves in the game - Luke Gale and Aidan Sezer - going head-to-head, there's plenty to look forward to about that one.

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First up...

Reigning champions St Helens had found defending their crown a little tougher than they did winning it before the restart, with the loss at Castleford their third of the season so far.

Head coach Kristian Woolf put some of that down to the energy-sapping, mentally-challenging task of the World Club Challenge, played at immense intensity against the NRL champions Sydney Roosters in the early part of the season.

With his side now rested and revitalised, they now face an immediate test of credentials with the visit of Steve McNamara's star-packed Catalans Dragons.

Even without the suspended Sam Tomkins, there's multi-code star Israel Folau, Origin and NRL-winner James Maloney in the halves, and talismanic prop Remi Casty.

It's a mouthwatering occasion.

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No crowds, no relegation, no scrums, no Toronto.

Dave Woods put it quite succinctly in his preview to the Super League restart, detailing what we will be missing from rugby league in this new era.

However, let's not just focus on what we've not got. There are also some things we've gained.

Like 'six again' - an NRL reaction to the influx of wrestle and slow-down tactics which will see tackle counts reset rather than penalties awarded that halt the flow of an attack.

That in turn could lead to more tries, more time in play, more exciting and engaging rugby league being played.

Scrums are replaced by a play-the-ball. No more packing down, for the time being. But it could again sharpen up the game.

Accentuate the positives.

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It has been 139 long days since rugby league last graced our presence up here in the northern hemisphere.

Having had our appetites whet by the excitement of Australia's NRL across the weekend mornings, today the wait for Super League's return is over.

The game might look and feel a bit different, but it's back.